The Girl (The Ninth Gate)
The Girl 'is a mysterious woman with supernatural powers who appears in ''The Ninth Gate. She acts as Corso's guide and protector and possesses keen insight into the events of the film. Background The complete background of the Girl was never revealed. The Ninth Gate Demeanor The Girl is an enigmatic and tender figure. Her interactions with Corso are always mysterious and affectionate, although she was not shy of holding him in an arm-twist when he became aggressive with her. Even so, she released him within moments of him coming to his senses and showed no aggression thereafter. Appearance Speculation Since the release of the film, a variety of speculations and theories have arisen as to the true, in-film nature and identity of the Girl. * Succubus: The woman exhibits several qualities traditionally ascribed to succubi of Christian mythology/demonology. She is beautiful, follows her chosen target, has supernatural powers, and performs sexual temptation all in service to Satan and Hell. * '''Satan: In the DVD commentary of the film, director explains that the Girl is the Devil, or rather a representation of the Devil. Although it comes from an official source, some viewers have not accepted this as accurate, chiefly due to the common perception that the Devil is male. However, as the Devil is both a supernatural being and a spirit, he could theoretically assume the appearance and mannerisms of a woman and utilize her feminine wiles and sexuality to deceive and seduce men down the path to Hell. * Whore of Babylon: In the final, authentic copy of The Nine Gates, there is an illustration of the Girl riding a multi-headed dragon. This has led viewers to suspect her to be the Whore of Babylon. Considering near the end of the film where the Girl makes passionate love to Corso to the point of causing him to cringe and groan as if in pain and laughing sadistically, this may lend some credit to this theory as the Whore is said to be lecherous and to delight in the torment of men. * [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guardian_angel Guardian Angel]/Fallen Angel/Demon: Some speculate that the Girl is either an angel sent from Heaven or a fallen angel or demon sent from Hell to ensure that Corso opens the Ninth Gate. Considering her clearly otherworldly nature, this theory holds fair foundation. On the premise of her being an angel, her demonic smile near the end of the film seems to debunk the first theory and lend credit to the latter, although holy angels have been portrayed as dark creatures before, which may lend some credit to the former theory in that, 1) She is a dark angel or perhaps an angel of death sent to guide Corso, or 2) She was sent by God to deliberately open the Ninth Gate for some unknown purpose, possibly either to release Lucifer, to send Corso to Hell as punishment for his despicable life, or both. Considering that the opening of the Ninth Gate is said to grant the opener immortality and everlasting power and wealth, it may be possible that the opening of the Gate was God's reward for Corso for some unknown reason, although considering that the book was written by Lucifer, it's possible that this promise was merely a lie to manipulate ambitious mortals into freeing him. Hints In the film, the Girl shows certain, subtle hints of her true nature. * Green Eyes: Her eyes are seen to glow an eerie green at three intimate points in the film. The first was when she first converses with Corso on the train, second when she baptized Corso with her blood. The third and final time was when she and Corso made love. * Mystical Abilities: She exhibited paranormal strength sufficient to overpower several grown men easily, the power to levitate, and seemed to appear and disappear instantaneously as if teleporting. * Omniscience: The Girl knew everything about the book, the events of the film, and Corso. * Inhuman Features: While she and Corso made love, her face became inhuman and shifted between a human face and a demonic, manic smile. Category:Succubus Category:Demons Category:Fallen Angels Category:Sirens